Closed conduit for electric-railway conductors



(No Model.) 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. J. VAN DEPOELE.

GLOSED GONDUIT FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAY GONDUGTORS.

No. 393,275. Patented Nov. 20, 1888.

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(No Model.)

0. J. VAN DEPOELE,

GLOSED GONDUIT FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAY GONDUGTORS.

' Patented Nov. 20, 1888,

Charles J Vahflepode.

N. PETERS. MVUMWI" Wuhlnglm D. C,

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UNITED STATES.

PATENT Fries.

CHARLES J. VAN DEPOELE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLOSED CONDUIT FOR ELECTRIC-RAILWAY CCNDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,275, dated November 20, 1888.

Application filed March 12, 1887. Serial No.230,048. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-I, CHARLES J. VAN DE- IPOELE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closed Conduits for Electric- Railway Conductors, (Case 0,) of which the following is a description.

My present invention relates to improvements in systems of conductors and means for containing and protecting the same in electric railways, and is an improvement upon the means and methods described and shown in my applications, Serial Nos. 226,952 and 226,953, filed on the 8th day of February, 1887; and it consists in a closed conduit located, preferably, between the tracks of the railway in the manner described in said previous applications; but instead of providing hinged or pivoted movable contacts for completing the working-circuit from the inclosed main conductor through metallic portions of the conduit system to the motor on the moving vehicle, by my presentinvention the conduit is freed from any obstruction or structure within, andin place thereof I provide contact-making carriages arranged to travel along the interior of the conduit and so constructed that electric connection will be established through them to the exterior traveling contact and thence to the motor, said interior contact-carriages be ing partially of magnetic material and caused to follow the movements of the exterior collecting or contact brushes of the vehicle by means of a powerful electro-magnet attached thereto. In this manner I am enabled to make a safe, effective, and perfect electric connec tion with the main conductor, which is completely protected and isolated by the sealed conduit within which it is contained. The details of construction and arrangement will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an elevation, partly in section, showinga portion of the conduit and a car arranged and equipped according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the roadway and conduit, a portion of the latter being broken away for the sake of illustration. Fig. 3 is an end view of the car and road-bed,showing a transverse section of the latter. Fig. 4 is a view similar to the preceding, but shows two sets of conduits and connecting devices instead of one. Fig. 5 shows a modification of the traveling contact, and Figs. 6 and 6 show the construction and arrangement of the conduit itself.

Similarlettcrs denote like parts throughout.

A are the c1-ossties,l3 B are the rails, and C is the conductor-containing conduit of an electric railway. The conduitOis constructed of bottom piece, D, side pieces, E, and a top piece,F,securely bolted together and mounted on a base piece, A, placed on the cross-ties A. The parts are preferably of timber that has been treated with a preserving solution, and as constructed theinterior of the conduit forms a continuous rectangular air-tight chamber, G, of, for example, four inches in width and five inches in height, although it may be larger or smaller, to suit particular circumstances. The top piece, F, is provided at its upper surface with a continuous series of metallic plates of substantially diamond shape and separated each from the other by an oblique space, i. The under side of the top piece is provided with metallic strips h, preferably of the same length as the exterior plates, H, and the inner and outer plates, H h, are in electrical connection with each other through the bolts I extending through both.

J is a car arranged to travel upon the rails B B, and it is provided with a motor, K, mechanically connected to the wheels in any convenient manner. Depending from the lower side of the car J is a contact-carriage, L, formed of a U-shaped iron core, I, each leg of which is provided with a magnetizing-coil,M, and to each extremity of which is secured an iron brush, m,although rollers m may be used in place of the brushes m, as indicated in Fig. 5, if found more convenient. The contact-carriage Lis connected with the vehicle J through the metallic parallelograms or jointed frames 0, which are thoroughly insulated by being secured to the wooden frame of the vehicle,'or

in any other suitable manner, and by means of which the traveling contact-carriage is allowed to rise and fall with respect to the body of the vehicle in order to compensate for slight irregularities in the roadway. On the bottom of the interior of the conduit is placed the main working-conductor Q, which is in the form of a continuous ilat strip of good conducting non-magnetic mctal as, forinstance, copper. Upon this conductor travel contactmaking trucks or carriages q, which consist of a body or frame,j, provided with wheels or rollers It at each end bearing and traveling upon the main conductor Q. Metal lic arms r extend upward from the bodies of the carriages q, being pivoted thereto, and also provided with springs S, arranged to press them upward. The outer ends of the arms 9' are provided with contact-rollers s, which are held against the metallic plates h by the springs S. The contact-whcels s are made of iron or other magnetic material; but all the other parts of the contact-carriages are to be of nonmagnetic conducting metal. There are preferably two of the carriages q, one to respond to each pole of the magnet, both carriages being coupled together and moving as one. The current passing through the conductor Q will be carried through the contactcarriages q to the interior plates, h, thence through the connecting-bolts I to the-outer plates, II, and from them to the collecting-brushes mor rollers m, and thence through the core Z and by way of conductor 1 to the motor K, returning by conductor 2 to the axle of the wheel k,and through the track to the generator.

The core l is constantly magnetized by means of the coils ill, which are of fine wire and take a small but sufficient amount of current through a circuit derived from the main by way of conductors 3, 4, and 5. \Vith this elec trical construction there will always be cur rent flowing through the magnetizing-coils M, and the core L will form a powerful electroinagnet, the pole-pieces of which are the contact-brushcs m or rollers m, which magnets will exert such attractive force upon the iron rollers of the contact-carriagesq that as the vehicle is driven forward by its motor the interior contact-carriages will travel in the conduit, following the movements of the magnetized exterior contact-making devices attached to the body of the vehicle. The magnetizingcoils M receive current during the entire time that the main current is likely to be used, so that when the vehicle stops it may be allowed to flow without great waste, as the quantity passing in the derived circuit and sufficient to inagnctize the core Zis very small; but when long stops are to be made it will be best to open the derived circuit.

I propose in many instances to utilize the track 13 B as the returncircuit; but I also contemplate using a duplicate conduit in all respects similar to the one just described, and also duplicate contact devices, one conduit carrying the main positive and the other the main negative conductor. In constructing the conduit I prefer to use short lengths of good timber properly prepared with some preserving solution, and the parts then either dipped in or painted with tar to render them waterproof as well as a better insulator. A basepiecc, A, preferably formed with longitudinal grooves d, diagonally across which are laid metallic, and preferably non-magnetic, crosspieces I), provided with extensions (1, which are screw-t1. readed to receive the lower ends of thetie-boltsgandlct downintothelongitudinal slots d, the insulation being in most instances still further strengthened by placing a strip of tarred paper below the metallic crosspieccs. The cross-pieces are further provided with extcndingln a,by which they are firmly secured in position by screws entering the base-piece A. The bottom piece, I), of the conduit is placed upon the cross-piece D, and upon it are placed cdgcwise the side picces,E, the lower edges of which are first coated with marine glue or someinsolublc adhesive insulating material, which causes them under ordinary circumstances to adhere to the bottom piece, I), so that the top pieces can be lifted thereoff without displacing them and admitting moisture. The top piece, F, is then placed in position upon the side pieces, E, a layer of tarred pa per or fabric or other suitable nonadhesive material being placed between the top and side pieces. The interior of the conduit is thoroughly coated with tar, bitumen, or other water-proof compound, and all four pieces are secure] y fastened and firmly bound together by means of the tie-bolts g, which pass from the interior of the outer plates, II, through the top, side, and bottom pieces and have a firm bearing in the cross-plates D beneath, the tarrcd paper and other insulating substance below said crossplates preventing any escape of current in that direction; but I may,if found desirable, form the holes in the top plates of larger size than the heads of the bolts and insert an insulating-washer between the heads of the bolts and the sides of the apertures in the said plates II.

Instead of using the cross plates D, I may substitute therefor the bolts 9 and socket-nuts g, which latter will be set in the longitudinal slots d in the base-piece A, being secured thereto or not, as found most convenient, one object of the cross-piece,and also of the socketnuts g, being to provide nuts for the bolts 9, so secured in position that I can at any time withdraw the bolts 1/ g and remove a section of the top piece, F, for expansion,repairs,&c., and then replace the same and put the bolts back in place without disturbing the sides or bottom ofthe conduit. A convenient arrangement for the position of the tie-bolts is, as shown, at the corners of the top plates, H, through which they pass, and thence through the walls of the conduit, taking into the threaded aperture in the cross-pieces provided for their reception and binding the whole together in an extremely strong and durable manner.

Various minor changes and modifications can be made in the devices hereinbefore de scribed without in any manner departing from the spirit of the invention. I therefore do not limit myself to the precise details shown or set forth.

I Having described my invention, what I claim 1s- 1. In electric railways, the combination of a main conductor extending along the line of way, a traveling contact in circuit with said conductor, and a traveling magnetic devicein inductive proximity to and controlling the movement of the traveling contact, substantiall y as described.

2. In electric railways, the combination of an electric conductor, a movable current-collecting device composed in whole or in part of magnctizable metal and in circuit with said conductor, and an electro-magnetic device mounted upon a traveling vehicle in inductive proximity to said current-collecting de vice and arranged to control the movements of the latter in accordance with the travel of the vehicle.

8. In electric railways, the combination, with a main circuit extending along the line of way and comprising outgoing and return conductors, of a traveling contact or contacts in circuit with said conductors and with an electric motor mounted upon a traveling vehicle, and an electromagnetic device also mounted upon said vehicle and controlling the movement of the traveling contact or contaets, substantially as described.

4. In electric railways, the combination of a conductor-coutaining tube, an exterior travcling magnet, and a contact-making device for connecting the inclosed conductor and traveling magnet, said contactmaker moving along the interior of the conduit under the influence of the exterior magnet, substantially as described.

5. In electric railways, the combination of a comluittube, a continuous conductor there in, an exterior traveling magnet, an interior magnetic traveling contact-making device under the influence of the exterior magnet, and electrical connections between the contactmaking devices, substantially as described.

6. In electric railways, the combination of a conduit-tuhe, a continuous conductor therein, an exterior traveling magnet, an interior magnetic traveling contact-making device under the inlluence of the exterior magnet, and discontinuous electrical connections between the contact-making devices, substantially as described.

7. In electric railways, the combination of a conduit tube, a continuous conductor in closed therein, an exterior traveling magnet, an interior magnetic contact-making device moving in contact with the inclosed conductor and under the influence of the exterior magnet, and discontinuous electrical connections between the interior and exterior contact making devices, substantially as described.

8. In electric railways, the combination of a closed conduit-tube, a main conductor within said tube, a traveling contact-carriage arranged to move upon said conductor and be propelled by a magnetic device carried by the moving vehicle, and electrical connections lo cated in the path of the traveling contact and extending to the exterior of the conduit, sub- ,stantially as described.

9. In electric railways, the combination of a closed conduit-tube, a main working-eonductor within said tube, electric connections extending from the interior to the exterior of said conduit, and a traveling contact-carriage formed in whole or in part of magnetic metal and arranged to move within the conduit, and magnetic means carried by the moving vehicle for propelling the contact-carriage along the conductor in accordance with the movement of the vehicle to establish connection between the closed conductor and devices carried by said vehicle, substantially as described.

10. In clectric railways, the combination of a closed conduit, a main conductor within said conduit, a traveling contact-carriage composed in part of magnetic material and arranged to move upon the main conductor, a series of discontinuous electric connections located in the path of the carriage and extending to the exterior of the conduit, and a magnetic device carried by the vehicle being propelled and arranged to draw the interior contact-carriages along the interior of the conduit by magnetic attraction, substantially as described. 7

11. The combination of a closed conduittube, a main conductor within said tube, a traveling contact-carriage moving upon said conductor, a series of discontinuous electric connections located in the path of the traveling carriage and extending to the exterior of the conduit, and a magnetic contact-carriage arranged to make electric connection with the exposed contacts extending from the interior of the conduit and to draw the carriage or carriages along the interior of the conduit by magnetic attraction, substantially as described.

12. In electric railways, the combination, with a foundation piece or base, of the bottom, sides, and top pieces forming the conduit, the cross-pieces secured to the base and the tie-bolts extending therefrom, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I hereto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES J. VAN DEPOELE.

\Vitnesses:

O. (J. BALDWIN, F. L. GAYLORD.

IIO 

